Experiences with Home Schooling?

Hello! And YES YOU CAN HANDLE IT!!!! ;o)Who better to teach their children but MOMMY!!!!!!
We've been "homeschooling" since birth. I have 2 children ages 7 and 5. It's our 2nd year of "official" homeschooling. I absolutely LOVE it! I, however, do it alone-I don't do a group of any sort. My girls are in dance and piano and I take them to all sorts of places where they interact with other children and where I can meet other mommies as well. FPEA is a great place to start for Florida's rules and regulations. As far as curriculum, there are SO many choices and SO many places to get support, that it truly is overwhelming at times. We chose to use a curriculum called Five in a Row and supplement with Abeka arithmetic, Spelling Workout and Speak, Spell, Read and Write for reading. We also look to Susan Bauer's "The Well Trained Mind" for other supplementals. I don't know how old your child(ren) is/are, but we also used June Oberlanders "Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready", for birth through age 5. Yes, there are days that we don't do everything that I have planned, yes there are days that I don't feel like doing it at all, yes there are days when I want to pull my hair out, but I wouldn't trade it for the world! I love what I do!
Here are some other websites that I use:
www.worksheetworks.com, www.enchantedlearning.com, www.preschoolexpress.com, www.busyteacherscafe.com, www.homeschoolshare.com, www.first-school.ws, www.notebookingpages.com.
There are tons! And depending on what you chose to do with your child(ren), you will find the support you require-that's a promise!
There are also other choices-there are schools that keep records for you. There are schools where you can send your child(ren) to for a couple of days and keep them home the rest of the time (you have to use their curriculum though and follow with what they're doing). So many options these days. I hope you find what you're looking for! Good luck to you! Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have;o)

A friend of mine was the one to show me the ropes with homeschooling and I would not change this experience for anything. This is our second year homeschooling and best of all they learn what you want them to know. I have had fears and questions along the way, but I have always been guided in the right direction by a good support system.
When it came to purchasing a good curriculum, I have found a few that work well with my family. But every child is different and sometimes learns better with a different style of learning. My oldest is currently in 5th grade and has used Switched On Schoolhouse also known as SOS; Horizons math & Lifepac. My youngest daughter currently in 1st grade has Horizons Math, Spelling and Language plus Scienceworks for Kids series and also a religion workbook. My favorites are SOS and Horizons. SOS due to it being well informative, easy to follow and it grades 95% of the material. As the child, completes an activity it gives them a letter grade and percentage of that assignment and over all grade. Horizons is repetitive learning, which works really well with both of my kids, especially the younger one. I have found the best prices on www.rocksolidinc.com they are based out of Jacksonville, Florida. Another good site, but a little more expensive is www.christianbook.com, on this site it will give you a preview of the material in the book. We are also part of a homeschooling co-op group that has outdoor club that meets weekly, takes fieldtrips and meets once a week for 8 weeks~twice a year. There is also something called "Florida virtual school" that I believe provides the materials for your child. I recently had a friend of mine from church tell me a little about it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me and I will try to help you as much as I can.

Don't let anyone tell you that you CAN do it and who better to teach your kids but you-- just like anything else in the world, some people are cut out for homeschooling and some aren't. Some kids will thrive and others won't. You have to be self disciplined and patient and organized and on and on. I am not discouraging you, just making sure you are being realistic and making sure it's really something you think will be in your child's best interest.

If you do decide to do it, look into Connections Academy. It's FREE because it's basically public school at home. You use their curriculum and it guides you step by step in everything that you do as the child's Learning Coach, and as your child gets older they get more independant in doing the online lessons on their own with your guidance. They have certified teachers who are available to assist and occasionally do Live Lessons (online). They are not able to accept new students this year but you can look into it now for next year. They are funded by public funding through the Department of Education. They provide you with a computer and a ton of supplies.

Hi! I am a homeschool mom and I do NOT regret the decision of homeschooling my kids at all. It is work but lots of fun to. I get to be with them all day and enjoy all the stages of there lives with out missing out on any of there adventures. We are part of a homeschool group and go to fieldtrips, parkdays, moms meetings, boys/girls clubs etc. Dont do this by yourself. I am going to give you some webpages I think will be usefull to you. The first is the FPEA which is were you want to start. This website gives you all the laws and "how to get started" stuff. The rest will be websites of free printable start up curriculums you can print and do at home. This is how I started. You can do this all you need is the desire and motivation the rest God will lead you through it.

http://fpea.com/ (you can also find support groups on this website)

http://www.starfall.com/ great webdpage for alphabet learning and reading

http://www.pre-kpages.com/circle_time.html (I used this to get ideas for posters to put up on the wall)

http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ (this one is one of my favorites we had lots of fun doing this)

http://dltk-kids.com/ (great for crats and other lessons)

I hope this is helpful to you. Should you need more info please contact me, I would be glad to answer any questions I can.